Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds PS5 Review
Summary: Taking the Kart genre to a new level... or new worlds.
4.6
Superior Sonic
For many years there has been a familiar name at the top of the list of Kart racing games… Mario Kart… but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is looking to overtake and shout a taunt as it passes!
Over the years there have been many Kart games, Sega may well have started the genre with Power Drift in 1988… then we had Whacky Wheels on PC and of course Mario Kart came and grabbed everyone’s attention and that seemed like the end of it. But bubbling away in the background… the people at Sega seem to have been looking at what made Kart games great… then thought about how to add to that and the result is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds!
The core game mechanic, as alluded to by the title, is the use of Travel Rings that take the race from one location to another… CrossWorlds! As a gameplay element it’s quite a lot of fun to see giant rings ahead of you featuring totally new dimensions and if you are lucky you might get to choose which ring to take and doing so could influence the way the race pans out. There are apparently 24 tracks and 15 Crossworlds for you to warp to.
The roster stands at 23 iconic Sonic characters and judging on the “coming soon” images we have some other franchises waiting in the wings to be released (Spongebob and Minecraft being two of note). But it’s not just your character that you can choose… you can take your pick of 45 unique vehicles and a selection of 70 gadgets to really tweak your ride to your liking.
But it’s not just the characters and the karts themselves that make a great kart game… it’s arguably the power-ups… those special abilities you collect as you race around the track that can make the difference between winning or losing… or at least having a good laugh while you place… less than first. A green goop drop, an anvil type weight to crush your opponent or simply an ability that transforms your vehicle into a monster truck… the range of options and benefits are a lot of fun to play with.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can also be played a few different ways. There’s solo mode, then there’s multiplayer… but there’s also a multiplayer team in which you and your friends compete against a rival team. The game really has a lot of ways to play.
Final Thoughts:
I’m pretty franchise agnostic with karting… I’m not fussed about who the characters are as long as it’s fun and I can certainly say that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a lot of fun… even when I wasn’t winning I was still enjoying the experience. The moments you pick up a power that can either help you take out the opponent in front or possibly blast past everyone ahead of you really add a lot of fun to the game. The ability to adjust many of the different aspects of the game (including the racing speed) means you can adapt it to the sort of mood you are in, or the skill level you want. The only drawback I would say is the price which does seem a bit steep… but there is a lot of fun to be had here either in solo play or in multiplayer and who doesn’t like a bit of split screen racing. Either grab a copy now and get racing or wait for a sale and then grab a copy… but if you like karting games… this is pretty close to a must have!
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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